At this stage, IDEO narrows down the choices to a few possibilities. Here’s how it’s done:

Brainstorm in rapid fashion to weed out ideas and focus on the remaining best options.

Focus prototyping on a few key ideas to arrive at an optimal solution to a problem.

Engage the client actively in the process of narrowing the choices.

Be disciplined and ruthless in making selections. Focus on the outcome of the process—reaching the best possible solution.

Get agreement from all stakeholders. The more top-level executives who sign off on the solution, the better the chances of success.